Love Éire, Keep Blasphemy, Vote No – But Not For Why You Think

Ireland is changing. Ireland is changing from what used to be a nation of small, rural communities into something akin to a satellite nation of the United States and the greater anglosphere, with all the trinkets and trappings of American culture.

As part of this change, the country is now well under way to rid itself of Catholicism, a crutch of an institution that it has been holding onto for the last seven hundred years, give or take depending on who you ask.

One of the remnants of this once supreme organization that resides in our constitution to this day is Blasphemy. Present since the document’s conception, the idea is very much a hallmark of the old Free State, and greatly reflects the religious grounding in which the first independent Irish nation was formed.

It’s a staunch reminder of the history of our country, which explains why Varadkar wants rid of it so badly. It is also something that we should be very reluctant to abolish in this day and age, and as free Irish men and women, we should put great effort into defending its existence.

I can already hear all the comments filled with indignation! How dare I say that blasphemy should be defended! How dare I even utter the suggestion that the institution is of value! How dare I speak against the secularization of the state!

“Supporting blasphemy?” they’ll say, “I thought you were in favour of free speech?” I will then be accused of being a bitter Catholic who is attempting to halt the march towards a progressive civilization.

But, you see, here’s the thing. I’m not Catholic. I’m not even Christian.

When it comes to religious dogma, I do not even remotely see eye-to-eye with the Church on even its most basic of doctrines. In my view the teachings of the Church are often contradictory, and almost always farcical, right down to how it tries to frame the existence of its god, either as a monotheistic entity or a trinity.

And before anyone even suggest, no I’m not a cultural Christian either, nor someone who appeals to so-called Judeo-Christian values as many on the Right like to do these days. The whole thing is rubbish once examined in depth, and so I do not mourn the institution’s death on this island. Quite the contrary; I celebrate it.

And yet, here I am saying that we ought to defend blasphemy. How can I square that circle? Well, it’s quite easy.

Blasphemy should be kept because it is useful to us.

You see, the Catholic church being the largely ineffective body that it is, has never really used blasphemy to its advantage. The Church has, at every turn, failed to exploit its legal protection any time it could have been useful to it. The law now sits unused right when the church is being overrun by its enemies.

But could blasphemy be put to better use? Short answer: definitely. The modern Republic is a place where nihilistic socialists run rampant, campaigning for abortion, communism, and drug-filled hedonism whilst simultaneously accusing all of its opponents of being immoral.

Furthermore, they are not afraid to resort to dirty tactics in order to make their enemies sit down and shut up. With this in mind, having the weapon of blasphemy to wield against them would be most valuable.

A small few at this point will, in good faith, raise the concern that keeping blasphemy will result in the immoral censorship of speech, and as such could not be morally endorsed by myself or anyone else who writes for this publication. However, this view fails to take into account that the current establishment wish to demolish any speech that rejects their views.

I’m not a fan of Varadkar, or any of the political parties in the Dáil for that matter, yet I do understand and respect that he is a rather astute man with a sharp understanding of Irish politics. Such a man would not cut off his nose to spite his face, no matter how much he hated it. So, why is he pushing for the destruction of blasphemy?

The answer lies in hate-speech legislation. Recently there has been a major push by the establishment to punish so called ‘hate-speech,’ a sort of push that rarely comes without political backing. Any hate-speech law, unlike the previous blasphemy legislation, would end up being used frequently and liberally to censor oppositionist speech and destroy Right-wing platforms, and would result in the end of free speech in this country, just as in the UK or Germany.

But, even if these laws were implemented, there would be one thing that could stop them in their tracks: blasphemy. This is because blasphemy could be used to counter any attempt to censor speech. If the government ever tried to prosecute you for your speech, you could simply say that the views you hold are that of a religion and therefore cannot be blasphemed against.

While I can’t say for certain whether the court would agree with your accusation, it would at the very least serve as a possible disincentive for progressives when constantly attacking the Right, since modern blasphemy hasn’t really been tested in Irish courts.

But there is an even more fundamental reason to vote no, and that is just to mess up the plans of the establishment. I’m reminded of the old phrase from the Simpsons “Always do the opposite of what Bart says,” however, instead of Bart, imagine the establishment.

If the establishment of this day and age are up to something, it is almost certainly something that is of no good to the Irish people. For, you see, when I said Ireland is changing, I didn’t provide the full story.

Ireland isn’t just changing. Ireland is actively being changed, and the people who are changing it have no love for the nature of the land or its people. As such, I advise you to do one thing. Love Ireland. Vote No.

Disclaimer: The views reflected in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of The Burkean

2 Comments

Good article on the issue of blasphemy juxtaposed with freedom of speech. However, making ludicrous claims about the theology of the Catholic Church and a deference to judeo Christian values as “rubbish” betrays astounding ignorance at best, or comes across as the rant of some splenetic puerile student at worst. If you make a claim, make it and provide evidence for it otherwise it is merely a subjective belief and nothing more ( attaching the same accusation as the one you advance…ie rubbisgh. The argument could stand alone without resorting to childish posturing on religion. As it is an article published in the Burkean the eponymous might have rebuked by saying … If the Christian religion “is destroyed, nothing can be saved, or is worth saving,” a recognition by the great man that Christian values are indeed significant if not pivotal. You cant seem to recognise that the situation Ireland now finds itself has its progeny in careless and idiotic comments as those contained in this piece.

I don’t understand how people can comprehend a hand having different fingers and a family being of different ages and genders but not one god being three parts. I also voted no but not so that any time I say something I can pass it off as being religious but so as not to further embolden the secular liberal types what with the eighth having been repealed and gay marriage passed. Also because I was worried that there’d be a deluge of blasphemy after and that God is worthy of respect.

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“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. It is not enough, in a situation of trust in the commonwealth, that a man means well to his country.”